Chapter 121: What the Ash Forgot to Burn II
[Aria]
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the blinds, staining the room in warm hues, but it felt wrong. Not because the light was harsh — no, it was gentle, as it always had been — but because it clung to the air in a way that made everything feel both too close and too distant at once. As if the room had expanded, stretched beyond its walls, and yet remained locked in a cage of its own making.
The thread inside her hummed again. It was stronger now, clearer than before, and it twisted within her like the very pulse of the earth beneath her feet. Something had shifted. It wasn't just the world — it was her. And she didn't know how to feel about it. The power, the ancient pull — it was both a gift and a burden. It felt like a blossoming, yes, but it wasn't a bloom that could be held delicately in the palm. It was vast, dangerous, unknowable. It felt like a volcano simmering beneath the surface of her skin.
Aria rose from the bed, careful not to disturb Selene. Her breath was shallow, as if even the smallest movement might rupture something fragile inside her. Her fingers brushed her own skin — cool, cold — but it wasn't the chill of the morning air. It was deeper. Something inside her had awakened, and she felt it in the very marrow of her bones.
The room was still, but her mind was full. A thousand voices whispered, a thousand thoughts collided, but none of them felt like her own. There were fragments — images, sounds, smells — unfamiliar and familiar all at once. A woman standing at the edge of a cliff, calling her name. The scent of wet earth, ancient forests, long - forgotten ruins. The taste of salt, but not of the sea.
Aria's eyes locked onto the window, where the light had started to bleed out from behind the blinds. The thread inside her tugged again. It was a beckoning, but it wasn't hers to ignore.
The urge to step outside was overwhelming. To feel the earth beneath her feet, to breathe in air that wasn't filtered by walls or ceilings. She had to leave. It wasn't a question of what she wanted anymore; it was a command.
But Selene was here. In this moment, Selene was all that Aria could anchor to. And yet — this was no longer the world they had known. Things had changed. Aria could feel it in every breath she took.
She stepped forward, careful, feeling the weight of every step as though the ground itself was unstable. Her hand hovered over Selene, but she didn't touch her. Selene was still asleep, her breath slow, even, but there was a restlessness beneath it. The dreams that lingered at the edges of sleep, clinging to her like a second skin. The energy between them was so thick now — so charged — that Aria could feel it even without touching her. It thrummed like the pulse of a thousand hearts beating together.
Selene stirred, then, shifting in her sleep as if Aria's presence had woken something inside her as well. Aria hesitated. She hadn't wanted to disturb her, not like this. But the pull inside her was too strong.
With a last lingering glance at Selene, Aria turned and stepped out of the room.
[Selene]
The sound of Aria's movements — soft, deliberate — had filtered into Selene's consciousness, dragging her from the depths of her dream. She didn't open her eyes immediately. She didn't need to. She could feel the shift in the air, the tension in the room like a stormcloud about to burst.
Selene's body tensed instinctively, the years of training and instinct making her aware of every subtle movement around her. But this was different. This wasn't the usual feeling of danger that she could place with precision. No. This was something deeper.
Aria was awake. More awake than she had been before.
Selene opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, but her mind was elsewhere — farther than she had ever been before. She could still feel the echo of the ash on the table, still see the glyph that had formed beneath Aria's touch, still taste the strange sensation of knowing something that didn't belong to her.
It wasn't just the power that Aria had unlocked. It was something more. Something that Selene couldn't quite grasp, but she could feel it in the way the room seemed to shift around her. The walls felt thin. The air felt heavy. And there, in the center of it all, Aria stood.
Selene didn't move immediately. She needed to think. To understand what had happened. To piece together what this meant — not just for them, but for the world they were in. This wasn't a small awakening. This wasn't the same Aria she had known. And it terrified Selene in ways she wasn't sure she was ready to confront.
But Selene knew one thing — Aria wasn't alone. Not anymore. Not even in her own skin.
Her heart clenched. She couldn't let Aria go out there, not like this, not without knowing what had been awakened within her. Not with that thing — whatever it was — crawling beneath her skin.
Selene moved quickly, throwing off the covers and rising from the bed. Her bare feet slapped against the cold wooden floor, the shock of it jolting her into action.
Aria was already halfway to the door when Selene reached her. She could see it in her eyes — something new. Something unexplainable. It was like looking at a stranger and seeing an old friend at the same time.
"You can't go out there," Selene said, her voice low but steady.
Aria didn't turn to face her. Instead, she stopped and stood still, as if listening to something that wasn't there. Something beyond the room, beyond Selene. "I have to," she said softly, a voice barely above a whisper. "Something's calling me."
Selene stepped closer, her pulse quickening. "And what if it's not you calling?"
Aria finally turned to face her, the air between them crackling. "What if it is?"
Selene swallowed, trying to find the words. But the truth was that there were no words that could explain this. The bond between them had always been deep, but now it felt as though they were two threads woven together in ways she didn't understand. And the way Aria was looking at her — the way she spoke — felt like a quiet admission that there was something else at play here, something far larger than either of them.
"I'll go with you," Selene said, her voice more firm now. "Wherever it is you need to go."
Aria shook her head slowly. "You don't have to. You can't follow me into this."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Selene's voice cracked. "Let you walk into the unknown alone? After everything?"
Aria stepped toward her, closing the gap that had felt like miles just moments before. She didn't say anything, but her hand reached out, brushing against Selene's cheek in a touch so tender it almost hurt.
"I'm not alone," Aria whispered.
And in that moment, the air shifted again. There was something in the room — something in the very fabric of their world — that seemed to respond to her words. Something ancient, something that Aria had tapped into the moment she had spoken those words aloud.
Selene's heart raced, and for the briefest of moments, she could have sworn that the world paused — as if everything, from the crackling air to the pulse of her own heartbeat, had ceased to move.
And then, as suddenly as it came, it was gone.
Aria turned, her footsteps light but sure. "Let's go," she said.
Selene didn't move right away. She stood there, rooted in place, watching Aria's back. There was no denying the transformation. No denying the pull of whatever had woken up inside Aria.
But one thing was clear: They were no longer walking into the unknown together. Now, it felt as though they were walking into it alone, side by side.
And that, Selene realized, was more dangerous than anything they had ever faced before.